Folks,
I’ve been mulling heresy here. Normally i’m someone who won’t hear a word against the Master and who thinks that his symphonies, especially the later ones, are well-nigh perfect.
But recently i’ve been having my doubts about 7. I’ve listened to all the recordings I have and i’m Coming round to the idea that the finale is slightly too short to match the scale of the first two movements.
I don’t think think it’s anything to do with interpretation or tempi, but it’s just AB should have written another 3-4 minutes of music for the finale, perhaps in an episode in the middle of the structure, simply to make it a little longer and more substantial.
What do people think?
I can understand the sentiment, and have occasionally throughout the decades also wondered whether or not the
Finale is - perhaps - a little short. That we would like
more music by
Bruckner is a given, but whether or not that additional music should be added to a work is questionable.
In this case, let me surmise that, with those great middle movements,
Bruckner went for a condensation rather than an expansion of what had gone before.
Bruckner, in general, did not follow traditional rules of structure, but invented rules for himself as variations on tradition. The
Finale is linked via rhythmical variations to the First movement, and to my ear there is a constant sense of conclusion right from the beginning, a sense which is sabotaged, causing thereby a great, if compact, struggle to reach the top of the mountain sooner rather than later, so to speak.
Would another 3-4-5 minutes improve the movement, or would they be gilding the geranium? I would think that small amount of extra music would not hurt, but...
right now, I am thinking that the Finale is just fine the way it is!
Which recordings do you have? Do you have the
Jochum on DGG from the 1960's? If not, try it, and if so, try it again.
